Alexandre LeRoi

Alexandre LeRoi appears as the main villain of the DC graphic novel Batman: Master of the Future, the sequel to Gotham by Gaslight, as an air pirate who intends to stop Gotham City's 20th Century celebrations, and to keep the looming century's polluting technology from becoming a reality. He keeps a mobile base in a zeppelin-esque airship powered by gas, and controlled by a robot LeRoi calls Antonio.

He first appears when he reveals his intentions to the gathered leaders of Gotham City planning the coming Fair, and orders them to either follow him or Gotham City will be "purged by fire". After being refused, he jumps from the ninth-story window and vanishes. Soon after he is shown reporting to a mysterious benefactor. He then begins his attacks against the city, trying to assassinate the mayor with a disguised missile, and soon after swooping down and kidnapping, taking him up to his airship, after which he reveals his true intentions: He will use a special solar lens as a weapon to burn Gotham to the ground.

After LeRoi destroys parts of the slum district and throws the mayor to his death, Batman uses a hangglider to reach LeRois airship by using the hot air from the fire to reach him. After accidentally destroying Antonio by pushing LeRoi into him, the two take the fight to the balloon above, fighting inside the hull of the ship where the ship's gas pipes are located. The two are equally matched, but the ruined robot falls and apparently overloads the engines, after which Batman escapes, and Alexander LeRoi plummets to his death in the fires.

It is later revealed that his benefactor was Franklin Claypool, a landowner of Gotham who was the owner of the ruined slum districts, planning to sell the now higher valued properties once LeRoi's work was done. He is however shown to be despondent at the loss of lives and surrenders to the authorities.

Powers and abilities

LeRoi is shown to be a genius-level inventor, having presumably constructed his airship and robot companion Antonio himself, and also depending mostly on renewable energy sources, considering his environmentalist zeal, as well as constructing a death ray that uses the sun as a power source. He is also show to be a master-level fencer, able to take on Batman in a duel to the death.

LeRoi has similarities to the Jules Verne character Robur the Conqueror.